15 educators advance to the next selection round of EDDY Awards

Fifteen Duval County public school teachers were named Wednesday as semi-finalists for the 2014 Florida Blue Duval County Teacher of the Year.

The semi-finalists were selected from teachers nominated by every public school in Duval County. Over the next few weeks, five finalists will be selected, then the winner will be named teacher of the year at the EDDY Awards on March 12 at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts.

The semi-finalists are:

Iris Caro, Central Riverside Elementary

Pamela Chaffin, Mandarin High

Kimberly Duffield, Mayport Elementary

Amanda Dyal, Southside Middle

Joseph Frencl, Atlantic Coast High

Michael Khalil, Sandalwood High

Bryan Long, North Shore Elementary

Ashley Payanis, West Jacksonville Elementary

Jesica Pearce, Lake Lucina Elementary

Desirae Royal, J.E.B. Stuart Elementary

Kristen Sands, Jacksonville Heights Elementary

Alethea Tarabishi, Loretto Elementary

Jessica von Eiff, Westview K-8

Christopher Watson, Ortega Elementary

Carol Wright, Mt. Herman Exceptional Center

The teacher of the year program is a joint venture of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund and the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership. Tickets to the EDDY Awards are available at eddyawardsjax.org.

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